Denese Wright

“Finding Gwendolyn” by Denese Wright

Go on a road trip with your elders and you’re guaranteed to get lost, but you might also end up finding yourself. I remember past road trips with Donavan, my husband. We were a little younger. We used to laugh together while he drove in circles around an empty parking lot trying to calibrate the compass in his truck. He always did this before the start of each journey. Our first two children were lucky to also share the experience, but days of puppy love are long gone now. Three screaming, fighting children in and road trips have become a th...

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“The Black Heart Man” by Denese Wright

Are you afraid of the dark like I am? We are going crab hunting tonight, not that I really want to but a special recipe I have in mind is curried crab with a mango chutney. One of my friends is going to show me how to cook it and we are in Negril Point, dead west on the island of Jamaica on holiday. Why pay for an expensive crab dinner with a million crabs on the march? Mangoes are everywhere and are also free. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to get the full island experience instead of staying cooked up in a fancy hotel. In the morning we go to vi...

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“Neck Bones & Chicken Blood” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #205

The following is an excerpt from the upcoming novel ‘Illegally Legal’. Based on true events, it follows Rachel Brown’s journey. The setting is on a farm in a thriving rural township on the island of Jamaica. Rachel is of a middle class family, and they have fallen on hard times watching their patriarch suffer in physical and mental decline. Desperate to find a breakthrough in medicine to reverse the symptoms of his disease or even cure it, Rachel’s mother is introduced to a presumably wealthy businessman from the United States. He promises t...

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“Prohibition Reborn” by Denese Wright

Getting In The Year is 2025, and economies around the world fell into the purging fire of another blistering depression.  Here, in the middle of a lush green desert, one wonders, “How can I really be in greener pastures?” The dollar is deader than that sunbaked snakeskin afoot, reminding me of all the perils still ahead on this journey. I’m here because of a whisper, ‘find cattle and you’ll find gold’. They are here. The sound of so many clattering hooves never sounds right, but transport of the equestrian kind has again replace rubber...

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“Lost & Found” by Denese Wright

Lost & Found Lilly, a thirty three year old nurse practitioner, clocks out for the joyous ride home. Finally, a well-deserved vacation, and two of her friends are tagging along. They fly to the Bahamas for a day, and then hop to Puerto Rico for a week of indulgence in tropical sunshine, Caribbean cuisine, shaking bikini bottoms and drunken debauchery on the beach for carnival influenced by rum as colorful as J’ouvert.  Old San Juan, a beautiful town, is the first stop. One would think the morning after arrival they will want to en...

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“Store Clerk” by Denese Wright

This story may be disturbing to some readers as it depicts a scenario about sexual assault and mental illness. It was Vanessa’s birthday and her second week on the job, over the weekend she prepared to celebrate by going to the salon, buying a new dress, and also opted for a pair of flats instead of the regular sneakers she usually wore to the store. Along the way Vanessa bought a pair of sunglasses too, and wore them the rest of the journey. It was a short stroll to the petrol station where she worked as a store clerk. Turn the key, run...

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“Now That We Have A Mutual Understanding...” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #187

“Now that we have this mutual understanding, let’s talk about your weight. You are getting very fat kitty cat. What happened?” She used to answer me with an emphatic meow. Now I wonder if she is even listening with her eyes closed. Her ears look attentive, maybe I’m being ignored. “Hey! Hey you, yes I’m talking to you. Yes, now that I have your attention, we need to address this problem. You are getting too fat, and I want you to live a long and happy life, so we’re gonna fix this. You are going on a diet little lady, with exercise. We’ll do...

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“My Neighbor The Cat” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #183

My Neighbor The Cat is a short story about a stray cat and the impact she had on the lives of two people, who were also trying to make it out of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic hardship alive and with their sanity. While leaning my head against the back of the sofa one day, a stray cat walked into my living room and meowed at me. I was unpleasantly surprised, knowing they tend to wonder into peoples kitchens and I really didn’t like cats. It was careless of me.  I usually keep the doors closed. My name is Jo-Anne, an...

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